22 October 2004	Friday	07 Ramazan 1425

ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: The government is taking numerous measures to improve the environment and control pollution, Minister for Environment Maj (retired) Tahir Iqbal said on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Environment which was presided over by Dr Mohammad Ali Brohi, says a press release. The minister said the government was fully aware of the environment issues.

The secretary of the environment ministry briefed the committee about the action taken against industrial units creating pollution, improvement of environment, ban on the use of pressure horns and polythene bags.

He said a number of mass awareness campaigns were launched to bring about attitudinal change among the industrial community towards environment.

The committee was informed that the ministry was facilitating establishment of six combined effluents treatment plants at industrial clusters with the assistance of ADB loan worth $100 million.

Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pepa) issued notices to 61 industrial units in September, directing them to report National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS) compliance within 90 days.

The committee was further informed that at present about Rs800 million per annum was the size of environmental investments in the industrial sector.